The development and use of novel polymeric membranes as suitable permselective diffusion barriers has been an engineering challenge in the area of new protective materials. These membranes must provide high water vapor permeability and be impermeable to chemical warfare agents (CWA).
The present invention provides solutions to the challenges in the field by providing multicatalyst polyelectrolyte membrane (MC-PEM) containing materials that may transmit water vapor therethrough. These materials may further prevent the transmission of chemical warfare agents (CWAs) through such materials by decomposing and/or degrading the CWAs.